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Lately, I have been very proud of my hair. It is the longest and thickest it has ever been in my entire life. Black Afro hair is beautiful and unique and wonderful. It is fairly easy to take care of. Even though conventional hair and beauty stores do not celebrate Black Afro hair and carry products that are beneficial to this type of hair, this does not take away from the raw beauty of this hair in it’s glorious natural state. I want every woman, child and man with Black Afro hair to be proud of their hair and roots.

With that being said, I forgot to pick up tea tree oil. I didn’t really know how amazing this oil was even though I have used it in the past to treat my acne as a teenager. I thought it would be a good idea to refresh on the benefits of tea tree oil for natural hair:

It is extracted from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia, commonly known as Narrow-leaved Tea-tree which is native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia. Tea tree oil is a natural antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-infection oil. Tea tree oil is an essential oil that is very good for the skin and also soothes patients of sinusitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, tuberculosis and viral or bacterial infections. Moreover, the benefits of tea tree oil includes its effectiveness to influence and deal with certain hair-related conditions. Tea tree oil is primarily antiseptic in nature and is a recommended bactericide and fungicide. It is therefore that this oil is often used to make tea tree shampoo as it readily heals scalp irritations and infections.

Someone I follow on Twitter, KCCM, posted about tea tree oil:

It is able to unblock the hair follicles and thus, eliminates dandruff.
It moisturizes the hair and scalp.
It treats cradle cap.
It prevents hair loss.
It treats lice.
It is very effective for hair growth.

Add a few drops of Tea tree oil to your regular shampoo to treat hair problems like persistent dandruff, itchy-scalp and even prevent head-lice. Massage it in, leave it on for 5-7 minutes and rinse off.

Like peppermint oil, it is not something I would use on a daily basis but something I would use to add to shampoos and conditioners and massage into my scalp when washing my hair. It is not an oil I would put in my hair like coconut oil but KCCM’S blog says it is a good sealant so I guess it is OK to use. I guess we’ll just have to find out!